Immigration Change

Policy directive on illegal immigrants draws fire as an overstep of powers

estimated millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States

800,000

estimated number of people covered by the new policy

Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children will be able to obtain work permits and avoid deportation under a policy announced Friday by the Obama administration.

President Barack Obama, speaking to reporters in the White House Rose Garden, said granting “deferred action” status would make the immigration system “more efficient, more fair and more just.”

His policy directive, which Latinos and other immigrants have been pressing for since Congress turned aside efforts to pass similar legislation, took effect immediately. It cast into sharp relief long-standing political differences on immigration, one of the most divisive and delicate issues being debated as the November elections approach.

Republicans were quick to criticize Obama, saying that he overstepped his powers in an end-run around Congress. The president said he was acting only “in the absence of any immigration action from Congress to fix our broken immigration system.”

Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said he prefers a legislative solution, echoing comments earlier in the day from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who said Obama’s stopgap change would make it harder to reach a permanent solution. Romney did not respond to questions about whether he would revoke the order if elected.

The new policy applies to people 30 or younger who arrived in the United States before they turned 16 and have lived here for five years. Applicants also must have no criminal record and have earned a high school diploma, be in school or have served honorably in the military.

These qualifications in some ways resemble those of the so-called Dream Act, a measure blocked by Congress in 2010 that would have established a path toward citizenship for certain young undocumented immigrants. The administration’s action Friday, which stops deportations but does not offer permanent legal status or citizenship, was a policy directive from the Department of Homeland Security. Congressional approval is not needed for such changes.

“Deferred status” will allow eligible applicants, including those undergoing deportation proceedings, to seek a waiver that effectively removes the threat of deportation for up to two years, with repeated extensions. People whose deferrals are approved will then be able to apply for work permits.

Federal officials said they will evaluate applicants on a case-by-case basis, and that about 800,000 people could qualify.

“This is not immunity, it is not amnesty,” said Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security. “It is an exercise of discretion.”

In North County, Cal State San Marcos student Alejandra Ramos said she grew up in North County with constant fear of being deported. She came to the U.S. from Mexico at age 9.

“It’s a huge relief to know that I am going to be able to work in this country legally,” said Ramos, 21, who plans to become a high school teacher. “My family has been putting all their money into my education, and now I can work. Once you grow into an adult you are supposed to work and become independent, but when you are undocumented, depending on your path, it can be very hard.”

Friday’s developments also buoyed Jose Ambrocio, 24, who had considered skipping the fall semester at Mira Costa College. He was working part time to afford the schooling, but became discouraged by the challenges of being undocumented. He had arrived in the U.S. from Mexico at age 12.

“Today I feel like I can make it happen. I feel the drive to get there,” Ambrocio said about completing a degree and working in anthropology.

The Obama administration’s action falls short of what some Latino leaders and other immigrant advocates have been seeking from an overhaul of the federal immigration system. Nevertheless, they generally praised the president Friday.

“This is an important step toward a more fair and rational approach to immigration policy consistent with what’s best about America,” said Kevin Keenan, executive director of the San Diego ACLU. “These children and young people have already been jumping hurdles to achieve a better future. This new policy not only benefits the young immigrants, but serves the economic and community interests of the country as a whole.”

The new policy represents a sharp contrast to the tone the Republican candidates for president took on illegal immigration during the primary season, when Romney opposed the Dream Act and took a hard line against undocumented immigrants.

Romney has sought to build support among Hispanics mostly by emphasizing jobs and other economic issues over immigration. Some political analysts said Friday that Obama’s directive could put pressure on Romney to address the situation of young people who were brought to the United States illegally and have deep ties to their communities, but that it also gives Republicans a chance to portray the president as acting in a blatantly political way — in search of votes at a time when his campaign is being weighed down by slow job growth.

Rubio called the administration’s approach “a short-term answer to a long-term problem.” He had been suggesting that Congress should enact a somewhat similar policy by law.

“There is broad support for the idea that we should figure out a way to help kids who are undocumented through no fault of their own,” Rubio said, “but there is also broad consensus that it should be done in a way that does not encourage illegal immigration in the future. This is a difficult balance to strike, one that this new policy, imposed by executive order, will make harder to achieve in the long run.”

In San Diego, Charles Fettinger said he was offended, saying Obama violated the U.S. system of government for political gain. He is a member of the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition and is involved with the tea party movement.

“President Obama is within his authority to issue an executive order, but he is not within his authority to dictate policy. Doing so disregards and oversteps the role he was elected to by the American people,” said Fettinger, who opposed the Dream Act but would favor legislative legalization for undocumented immigrants who acknowledge wrongdoing, pay a fine and undergo a probationary period.

“I suspect this is an election-year tactic designed to create disruption, which will then be used in his campaign to claim his opponents are uncompassionate or worse.”

Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, called the action “an affront to the process of representative government by circumventing Congress and with a directive he may not have the authority to execute.”

As recently as Thursday, the president said he would like Congress to go even further, giving some such people a path to citizenship.

“If we truly want to make this country a destination for talent and ingenuity from all over the world, we won’t deport hardworking, responsible young immigrants who have grown up here or received advanced degrees here,” he said in a speech in Cleveland. “We’ll let them earn the chance to become American citizens so they can grow our economy and start new businesses right here instead of someplace else.”